Bill Gates retirement coverage swamps the web

Gates waited behind a black curtain, arms crossed and pacing, as Ballmer introduced him. He walked in to a standing ovation, grinning, and introduced his wife, Melinda, and his children in the audience. He talked about the company’s history, including the “David and Goliath” battle against IBM, saying with a smile that he thinks that story came out the right way. He talked about the competitive landscape, saying that he thinks it’s still right for the company to focus on software.

“We have so many opportunities to surprise people,” he said.

He acknowledged that it won’t be easy to move on, given how natural it has become for him to work at the company over the past three decades. Sometimes, when he’s driving his children, Gates said, “If I forget and start thinking about work a little, I start driving to Microsoft. They say, ‘Dad, dad, what are we going to do at Microsoft?’ ”